The invention relates to a coupling/uncoupling device for a transmission means and/or connection means, in particular the Bowden cable of a vehicle seat with a crash-active headrest and a correspondingly equipped motor vehicle seat. The present invention further relates to a method for connecting and disconnecting two segments of a transmission means and/or connection means.
In the still unpublished German patent application DE 10 2006 019 176.5-16, a coupling device for a backrest with a crash-active headrest is disclosed which, in the event of an accident (rear impact), is partially displaced toward the head of the passenger by means of an activation means acted upon by the passenger. For the basic construction and function of such headrests, reference is made to the publication WO 2005/097545 A2. Both patent applications are thus used as references and are thus considered as part of the disclosure of the present invention. The coupling device connects in an unreleasable manner or a reversibly releasable manner a first segment of a transmission means, in particular a Bowden cable, to a second segment of this transmission means and after the coupling causes tension to be transmitted from the actuating means arranged in the lower backrest part to the drive device located in the headrest. The German utility models G 84 25 960.4 and DE 20 2004 019 232 as well as the unexamined German applications DE 10 2005 009 930 and DE 100 54 826 are further prior art known to the applicant. All coupling devices disclosed in the prior art are either of relatively complicated construction and/or the coupling of the two segments is unsuitable for a crash-active headrest.
It was, therefore, the object of the invention to provide a coupling/uncoupling device, which does not have the drawbacks of the prior art.